


It Takes a Blizzard

by bloopy



Series: Stories I write due to random bouts of inspiration [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Blizzards & Snowstorms, Gen, Hospitals, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Sickfic, bad life choices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloopy/pseuds/bloopy
Summary: Kageyama was feeling a little under the weather as a blizzard raged outside. When he hears a knock, he opens the door to the last people he expected to see. What could possibly go wrong?Alternate ending now posted!
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime & Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio & Kindaichi Yuutarou & Kunimi Akira, Kageyama Tobio & Oikawa Tooru
Series: Stories I write due to random bouts of inspiration [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066586
Comments: 14
Kudos: 217





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy! Got this idea today and I just had to get it all down which is also why there's probably not a lot of proofreading.....

Iwaizumi was going to murder his best friend-actually murder is probably an understatement. If there was anything that could be worse than murder he would do it to him, like hiding his hair products. He turned around glad that the others were still capable of walking at a decent enough pace, even if the snowfall was getting heavier by the minute. It was only five more minutes to the nearest train station that could take them back to the comfort of their warm homes.

“Oi, You guys doing alright?” He called back out to them. Kindaichi nodded his head slightly and Kunimi rolled his eyes which meant that he hated everything but was still functional. Oikawa on the other hand……

“Iwa-chaaaan! I am freezing! Seriously how long is this going to take?”

“Trashykawa I’d like to remind you that this was your brilliant idea to come all the way here to see the new alien movie instead of going out for ramen near home like _I_ suggested.” Iwaizumi tried his best to say that entire sentence without shivering but it was getting harder by the second.

Oikawa was about to offer a rebuttal but instead he began to squeal pointing ahead of them. The train station was finally in sight! They rushed as fast as they could without slipping on ice and got there-only to find all the employees packing up their things.

A security guard noticed the four shivering wet teenagers and walked over, grimacing internally about what he’d have to tell them.

“Hey boys. You weren’t thinking of taking a train somewhere were you?”

“Ah yes sir. We were wondering if the station was still open.” Iwaizumi said with a sinking feeling in his gut.

“Sorry kids. We just got word to shut it down because the snow’s only going to get worse from here for the next couple of days. Expect it to be running up again next week. Now get along home, okay? They say the next couple of hours are going to be the worst blizzard this area has had in over a decade.” The boys all nodded as they watched the security guard wrap his scarf even tighter and go home.

The four of them stared at each other in defeat. Kindaichi felt his eyes becoming wetter as tears of frustration began to build. He looked at his upperclassmen hoping they would be able to think of something to do, or somewhere to go that wasn’t too far away. Otherwise Kindaichi didn’t think he’d want to leave the semi-warm train station just to wander around aimlessly.

Meanwhile, Kunimi had recognized the area they had been walking in from his middle school days. He knew they wouldn’t be able to stay at the station and were going to need to find a place soon. He considered his idea a little more and decided that seeing as he had already been hoping to speak to this person previously, this was probably the best opportunity he was going to get for a while.

“There is someone we could ask for shelter.” Kunimi’s quiet voice snapped Kindaichi out of his train of thought and broke the intense staring contest of his upperclassmen who stared at him in anticipation.

“Who is it Kunimi-chan?” Oikawa asked softly, hoping his underclassmen would think of a way out of the mistake he had caused.

“Well……I’m not exactly sure how receptive you’ll be. But I don’t see any other option. It’s to go to-”

* * *

Kageyama shivered from his place on the couch. He had the bad sense of trying to stay for extra practice earlier today before the snow began, which meant he had to walk home in nothing but his sweaty gym clothes and his thinnest winter coat. (Yes he forgot to check the forecast, no he wasn’t going to admit that to anyone.) Hinata hadn’t even stayed behind, having to leave early at his mother’s request. This meant that Kageyama was the only person paying the price by coming down with a cold a few hours later. (He really hoped Suga-senpai never found out what he did otherwise he’d never hear the end of it.)

He sighed, knowing he was going to have to get up and look for medicine soon, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to get up. The couch was so nice and war, and he was so very, very cold. A quick nap couldn’t hurt right? Just a short, sweet, nap………..

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Kageyama jolted awake. Was someone…..knocking on his door? In a blizzard? He shook his head, no one would be _that stupid_ (present company excluded). He sighed thinking his sick mind was playing tricks on him before…….

KNOCKNOCKNOCKNOCNKNOCK!

This time the knocking was even more furious. Kageyama shivered again, sighing as he wrapped the blanket around himself and slowly walked to the door. He knew he should probably be more careful and not open the door for strangers in a blizzard, but he just wanted the knocking to stop so he could get back to sleep. He opened the door and......

“Hey Kageyama-kun! Sorry to disturb you but can we come in?” Iwaizumi Hajime stood at the door, thoroughly soaked and shivering in his winter wear with the storm raging behind him. Behind him stood Kunimi, whose face was almost fully obscured by a scarf, and a bit further back was Kindaichi and Oikawa, both wearing scowls of displeasure. Kageyama didn’t even know where to start, so he just nodded and opened the door a bit more.

After they removed their shoes and wet coats and scarves, the four Seijoh students stood awkwardly in his living room, shivering with the lingering cold. Kageyama blinked a couple more times before realizing he should probably help them get warm, after all he didn’t think having more sick people would be very helpful.

“Um……you guys can wait here. I can get you some dry clothes.” Iwaizumi and Kunimi nodded their thanks, while the other two still scowled.

* * *

As Kageyama walked upstairs, Oikawa turned to the others.

“Is it just me, or is Tobio-chan sick?”

Iwaizumi stared at his friend, fighting the smirk that threatened to pop up on his face.

“What happened to: ‘I refuse to even look at Tobio-chan because I think this is a horrible idea and I'm still a salty 18-year-old that’s holding a grudge against a former underclassman’?”

“Hey! There was no need for the add on! I just want to make sure he doesn’t get the rest of us sick okay!”

“Oikawa-senpai, you should probably keep it down unless you want him to actually hear you.” Kunimi’s trademark deadpan expression was back on his face. He wasn’t like Kindaichi and Oikawa who felt threatened by Kageyama's very existence, and he was at least willing to acknowledge that what had happened in middle school was a two-way street. Although that was a rabbit hole of thoughts that he didn’t have time to think about or acknowledge right now.

Oikawa was about to say something in response, but they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Looking up, the four of them noticed Kageyama walking downstairs with a bundle of clothes. Now that Oikawa had pointed it out, they couldn’t help but notice that his movements were slower than usual, and that his cheeks had a rosy hue to them.

He walked up to them and held out the bundle.

“These were all washed yesterday. If you guys want to take a warm shower, the shower is upstairs on the second door to the right. I apologize if they don’t fit you perfectly.”

Iwaizumi clapped his former underclassman’s shoulder. “Kageyama seriously don’t worry about it. We can't thank you enough for taking us in.”

“Why would I leave someone out there to freeze?” Kageyama was confused. He didn’t think that it would be appropriate to leave someone out in the blizzard. He was already slightly sick from walking for a little while, if someone was left out in the cold they could get even sicker. Then they wouldn’t be able to play volleyball.

Iwaizumi shook his head with a fond smile, and walked over to the bathroom where Kageyama said he could change in. Kunimi opted for a shower and Kindaichi followed along, not wanting to be separated from his best friend. This left Oikawa and Kageyama in the living room together.

Kageyama was starting to feel a little dizzier. He was about to move over to the couch when Oikawa opened his mouth.

“Tobio-chan.”

“Yes, Oikawa-san?”

“I can't believe all your clothes are this boring! Honestly who doesn’t have anything with aliens on it!” Oikawa doesn’t know why he said that, but he desperately wanted the awkward silence to stop.

“I can try finding something else for you if you want?” Kageyama cocked his head to the side in confusion.

Oikawa facepalmed. “Never mind, Tobio-chan.” He decided he would have to continue to fill the silence by himself seeing as the kid didn’t look up for conversation, so he did what any normal person would do and started talking about aliens.

* * *

After everyone had showered or changed clothes, the four boys sat in Kageyama’s living room unsure of what to do next. Kunimi had claimed the big loveseat and was curled like a cat. Oikawa and Iwaizumi were sharing the couch while trying to kick the other’s legs off of it. Kindaichi had taken the other chair and was anxiously waiting a reply from his mother, who was bound to yell at him for getting stuck away from home.

Kageyama walked back into the room with a tray filled with mugs of hot chocolate, and a plate of some snacks he found in the house.

“Kageyama! I thought you were going to the bathroom! I would’ve helped you if you told me what you were doing!”

“Oh that’s alright Iwaizumi-san. It’s not that difficult to make.”

“There’s only four mugs. Aren’t you going to drink?” Kunimi asked from the side.

Kageyama shook his head. “I ate before you guys arrived. I'm not that hungry, so please don’t worry about me.” In reality, Kageyama didn’t eat because he felt like even a drop of milk at this point would cause him to hurl. he wasn’t even able to make sandwiches to go along with the drinks because of how bad the nausea was getting, but he also knew that if his grandfather was around, he would have berated him for not offering his guests any food.

The others thanked him and began to drink and eat. After a few minutes, Oikawa clapped his hands.

“Alright well, I am ridiculously bored. Let’s play a game!”

“We can't play volleyball indoors Oikawa-san. There isn’t enough space.”

“Tobio-chan why is that the first thing you think of? No I mean something better. Like truth or dare!”

“Trashykawa do we look like a bunch of 13-year-olds at their first sleepover?”

“Looks like someone’s just too afraid to do the dares Iwa-chan.”

“I will throw you out into the blizzard again.”

“Anyways. Come on you guys let’s sit in a circle!”

Kindaichi sat next to Iwaizumi who had claimed the spot next to Kageyama. Kunimi sat on Kageyama’s other side and Oikawa sat in the middle of his two underclassmen after fishing out a water bottle.

“Alright since this was my brilliant idea I’ll spin first.” Iwaizumi and Kunimi rolled their eyes.

The bottle spun and landed on Iwaizumi.

“Yay! Iwa-chan! Truth or dare!”

“Dare of course.”

“Alright…….I dare you tooooooooo do the splits.” Oikawa had worse dares, but he wanted to build up the suspense.

“You know I can't do that!”

“Looks like you’ll have to do the punishment!”

“And what’s the punishment?”

“Sitting outside for a minute.”

Iwaizumi was going to throttle Oikawa. Unfortunately he also didn’t want to sit outside. He tried his best to do the splits forgetting a very important thing. These pants belonged to someone that was skinnier than he was. As he tried to go down more and more, he heard a riiiiiiiiip.

Everyone stared, before bursting into laughter as Iwaizumi’s face burned red in mortification.

“TRASHYKAWA!”

“Oh come on Iwa-chan that was hilarious!” Oikawa had tears running down his face. Even Kageyama let out a few soft chuckles, while Kunimi had his phone pulled out , already making sure to send that video to the volleyball group chat.

After a few more minutes of laughter, iwaizumi turned to Kageyama who had a smile on his face.

“Kageyama I am so sorry about this. I’ll sew them up for you-or get my mom to do it. Just let me take them home okay?”

Kageyama shrugged. These were old pants, so it wasn’t a big deal to him. he said as much to iwaizumi before getting up to find him the largest pair of pants he owned.

When he came back down, Iwaizumi’s head was in his hands again while Oikawa was laughing at his phone. Kunimi had a self-satisfied smirk while Kindaichi was torn between concern and mirth. After everyone settled down, they continued.

A couple of hours passed, the snacks were all eaten, and everyone slowly started to grow more at ease. Sometimes a question asked led to a side discussion, such as when Kageyama was asked about his greatest fear and he said lactose intolerance, causing everyone to burst into laughter and talk about their own irrational greatest fears.

Eventually, the moment that Iwaizumi was secretly hoping to avoid, finally happened.

“Yahoo~ Tobio-chan! Truth or dare!”

Kageyama thought about it. He wanted to say dare because it was safer from more probing questions, but truth required less physical effort and he could feel himself getting slowly worse by the minute. Also, Oikawa’s questions weren’t _that_ bad he supposed.

“Truth.”

“Alright then.” Oikawa got a dangerous smirk on his face, having thought of a question to a problem that had been plaguing his mind since the start of this school year.

“Why’d you become the tyrant king in your third year huh?”

.

.

.

Silence.

“Oi Oikawa that’s going too far.” Iwaizumi growled. Kindaichi and Kunimi had both sat up and looked at each other nervously too.

“Sorry, sorry. Tobio-chan you don’t have to answer it if you’re too scared. We can choose dare instead.” Oikawa began to feel slightly guilty when he saw the broken look on Kageyama’s face.

“I…..”Kageyama struggled to find the words about something that still scared him. He wasn’t sure if he should even answer, but figured that out of everyone, Kindaichi and Kunimi deserved an apology. They had a practice match with Seijoh last week in preparation for nationals, and he could feel something different between them, especially when Kunimi smiled while he was walking past Kageyama. Unfortunately, they left before he was able to gather the courage to say anything to them. Now, somehow, they were in his house. If this was what had to happen for him to apologize, then so be it.

“I was tired of always coming second. So I tried to make the team better. I guess I forgot that not everyone has the same drive, or motivations. Also……I’m not really good with tone of words. I guess the things I said may have come across wrong when I didn’t mean to. I didn’t think it would get that bad but…..something happened towards the end of the year and I lost control over everything. I’m not using it as an excuse because I should have been better. There isn’t really any excuse for how bad I became.” Kageyama turned to both of his old friends. “I truly am sorry. You don’t need to forgive-”

“I already did.” 

Everyone stared at Kunimi in shock, no one had expected that.

“I forgave you because you weren’t the only one at fault. You have zero social skills and we knew that from our first year, so it really shouldn’t have been so surprising that this happened. And…..no matter how bad it got, you never said anything bad about us off the court, but we both did.” Kindaichi looked at his friend in silent awe. Then he remembered a conversation he had with Kunimi after their first practice match with Karasuno.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Kindaichi and Kunimi were walking home. As usual, Kindaichi was the one speaking while Kunimi added his commentary when he felt the need to. Suddenly, Kindaichi noticed his best friend had stopped walking._

_“What's wrong Kunimi? You feeling okay?”_

_Kunimi was silent for a few beats before slowly answering: “He was different today, wasn’t he?”_

_There was no need to ask who he meant by ‘he’, Kindaichi already knew._

_“I mean yeah I guess so. He didn’t yell at the orange haired kid for smashing the serve into his head. I fully expected him to go into king mode.”_

_“I guess. But don’t you find it odd that he changed so much in a matter of a few months? I wonder if that means the problem was never really with him.”_

_“Of course the problem was with him! He was a tyrant king who wanted to make his subjects cater to his every whim!”_

_“The only thing that changed in the two months since middle school, was his teammates. I'm not saying he’s blameless, but I don’t think we’re both exactly innocent, don’t you agree?”_

_Kindaichi paused. I mean sure, Kageyama looked like he had changed, but that didn’t remove the hurt he had felt, it was too soon. Kunimi must've seen the conflict on his face because he just sighed and muttered something about overthinking._

_Later that night, Kindaichi couldn’t sleep, not when memories of his first year and how inseparable they were kept flooding his mind._

_(He didn’t know why he said they were never friends to Kageyama later that year. He supposed that the hurt from losing was still too raw, even though his mind screamed that he was a liar, his throat clogged up when he tried to take it back.)_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

“Kunimi’s right. It’s also kind of our fault too. You were horrible, but not blameless. None of us were.” Kindaichi felt embarrassed saying all this in front of his upperclassmen, especially ones that had personal involvement in this issue to an extent, but he needed to say it.

Kageyama stared at both of them in awe. He didn’t know if it was because he was feeling sick or not, but he could feel his face getting redder and his eyes tearing up. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Iwaizumi drag away Oikawa as he muttered something about giving them a moment. The three of them stared at each other before Kindaichi, always the most emotional, burst into tears and launched himself at Kageyama saying how sorry he was that he said they were never friends. Kunimi came from his other side and Kageyama felt something in his heart shift and settle back into place.

Finally Oikawa and Iwaizumi returned, the former having a small scowl on his face and the latter having a proud smile.

“Tobio-chan I hope you don’t expect that sort of mushy apology from me.”

“Of course not Oikawa-san.” Kageyama felt himself grinning when he saw Oikawa roll his eyes with a small smile on his face.

Kageyama decided that they should make preparations for dinner, so he got up and went to the kitchen. Only…..the kitchen suddenly felt very far away. Was it always this hard to walk to it? And why was it that his legs felt so heavy? He shook his head, trying to regain his senses but only succeeded in causing a ripple of pain to break out from his head to his chest. Was it always this hot? Or was it actually very cold? Kageyama wasn’t sure of anything anymore. He tried to push through but suddenly he felt himself falling into a very dark hole. Then everything became silent. 

* * *

“Kageyama!” Iwaizumi felt his heart stop. Kageyama had said he was going to the kitchen to see what they should eat when almost as soon as he started walking, he began to shiver before collapsing on the floor. Luckily, Kindaichi caught his head before it could hit the floor. He looked up at Iwaizumi with fresh tears pouring in his eyes.

“Iwaizumi-senpai! When we hugged him he felt a little warm, but I thought it wasn’t that bad! And earlier Oikawa-senpai said he looked sick, but he didn’t look that sick Iwaizumi-senpai! What’s going to happen to him!”

Iwaizumi cursed his negligence, they could all see that Kageyama was quieter and slower to respond than usual, but none of them thought that it was _that bad._

He took another look at Kageyama. He was always the smallest compared to Kindaichi and Kunimi, but now with his head in Kindaichi’s lap, surrounded by an extra-large sweater, he looked even smaller. He placed a hand on his forehead, pushing the sweaty bangs away. Almost immediately he recoiled. The kid was burning up.

He turned to Kunimi. “Go to the kitchen and find a thermometer. If there’s a medicine cabinet also see if there’s any cooling cloths.”

He then turned to Oikawa, who was frozen on the spot.

“Oi this isn’t the time to freeze up. Go help Kunimi.” Iwaizumi touched him on the shoulder causing him to snap out of it.

“Iwaizumi-senpai! His breathing!”

Iwaizumi turned back around. Kageyama’s breathing had become much shallower in a matter of seconds. He had to swallow back his worry as he continued to reassure Kindaichi that everything was going to be okay. Kindaichi had long given into his emotions and the tears were streaming down his face.

Kunimi and Oikawa rushed back in the room with a thermometer and a bowl of cold water with a towel. Iwaizumi grabbed the thermometer and stuck it in his mouth. He hissed when he saw the number. 39.2 degrees.

Oikawa cursed as he began to rub the now damp towel across his face. Kageyama moaned softly and leaned into the coolness, hoping it would relieve some of the heat he was feeling.

“We should probably take off his shirt to be able to cool his chest as well. I know it helps me when I'm sick.” Kunimi said after assessing the situation.

Iwaizumi nodded. “You and Kindaichi go and find his room upstairs. We’ll move him there to be more comfortable. Find his futon and make it up and Oikawa and I will carry him upstairs.”

They both nodded, and after transferring Kageyama’s head onto Oikawa’s lap, the two first years sprinted upstairs. Oikawa looked at his friend, noticing the same worry on his face.

“Iwa-chan. If his fever gets above 40 he’s going to need a hospital. But I don’t know how they’d get to him with the snow piling up.”

“Then we make sure it doesn’t get to 40. Even if it means we have to shove him in an entire tub of snow.”

They both heard a shout from Kunimi telling them to come upstairs and as Iwaizumi was about to help carry Kageyama’s legs, Oikawa scooped him up bridal style and began slowly making his way up the stairs. He began to get even more worried when Kageyama didn’t react to the movement, not even by groaning or moving his head.

The first door on the right was open and they saw the other two around a futon with the covers pushed back.

Oikawa put him down gently and began to take off his sweater and undershirt. There was still no reaction from Kageyama, and Iwaizumi and Oikawa exchanged worried glances.

Iwaizumi began to take the towel and rub it across Kageyama’s face, neck, and chest. Oikawa watched for a second before going to the bathroom and getting another towel to do the same. Kindaichi was sitting with his knees drawn to his chest, watching Kageyama’s shallow breathing, while Kunimi was deep in thought.

“Do you think we should contact someone? Like his grandfather or something?” They all knew Kageyama lived with his grandfather, but when asked why, he had never elaborated.

“Yeah look around the room and see if you can find anything that might give us his number.”

After a few minutes of looking, Kunimi sighed and said that there was nothing. He went downstairs and found a room that looked like an office. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t enter a private place, but this was an emergency. The office looked like it hadn’t been used in a while but on the desk there was a folder labelled ‘Grandpa Expenses.’ Kunimi opened it and blanched.

* * *

Kindaichi was still staring at Kageyama when Kunimi walked into the bedroom again wearing a strange expression on his face.

Oikawa looked at him strangely until Kunimi responded with: “Kageyama lives alone. I found bills from a funeral home for his grandfather who had passed away before middle school ended.”

Kindaichi froze in shock while Iwaizumi let out a gasp and Oikawa dropped the towel he was holding. The four of them stared at the youngest, whose face was still red, shallow breaths coming out as he lay flat on his back.

Oikawa swallowed down an unrecognizable emotion. “Well. We’re just going to have to do the best we can, especially seeing as the roads look like they won’t be opening anytime soon.”

Kindaichi nodded his assent and began mentally willing Kageyama to hang in there, he couldn’t lose a friend after he had just gotten him back!

* * *

It was getting later and Kageyama’s condition still hadn’t improved. It hadn’t gotten worse either, which Iwaizumi counted as a small win. They decided that it was best if they drew lots and took shifts throughout the night, with the others sleeping in the living room downstairs. (All the other rooms in the house were completely closed shut and Iwaizumi didn’t want to dwell on why.)

Kunimi got the first lot with Kindaichi second. Iwaizumi was after him and Oikawa was the last one, which worked well seeing as he was always up early.

Iwaizumi tried to sleep, but all he could see when he closed his eyes was a 12-year-old Kageyama lying down in that futon upstairs, fighting to breathe and survive.

Eventually he got a few hours of fitful sleep in, until Kindaichi came to shake him awake. He thanked the boy who looked just as distraught as before and walked upstairs. He saw Kageyama with the covers drawn up around him, leaving the only visible part of him his flushed and sweaty face with his hair practically sticking to his forehead because of the sweat. 

Sitting down he took Kageyama’s temperature again.

“39.0. Damn it, why is it not getting lower faster?”

The rest of his shift was quiet, in the last half hour he heard footsteps and watched the door as Oikawa walked inside and sat next to him, resting his head on his old friend’s shoulder.

“His temperature isn’t going down. It’s not going up either though, so I’ll take it.” Iwaizumi reported before Oikawa had to ask. Before Oikawa could say anything, they heard a sound.

“Mmmm.” They both stared at Kageyama, who's eyes were squeezed in pain as he began to raise his hand to grasp at an imaginary person.

“Mmma. Mmaaa. Mmaaa whr are yu?”

Kageyama’s weak voice filled the silent room. Oikawa felt his heart clench uncomfortably as he reached out to Kageyama’s extended hand and grasped it softly in-between his own. He hissed at the heat rising from it and tried to rub soothing circles in hopes if calming down the boy who appeared to be growing more agitated by the second.

They watched as Kageyama blearily opened his eyes, but they looked cloudy and unfocused.

“Mmaa. ‘s tht yu? Did yu cme back?”

Oikawa heard Iwaizumi’s breath hitch. He was about to open his mouth to say something before Kageyama began to shake.

Iwaizumi swore loudly. “He’s convulsing! That means his temperature is too high and we need to cool him down immediately.”

Oikawa nodded. “Get Kunimi and Kindaichi to bring in bowls of snow and start filling up the tub with cold water. I’ll take his temperature again and use the cloth to cool him down slightly.”

Iwaizumi sprinted down the stairs as Oikawa started to whisper softly to Kageyama while trying to cool him. The boy’s moans started to get worse and worse as the convulsions got worse and Oikawa didn’t know how much more his heart could take, seeing him in pain.

After what felt like hours, Iwaizumi burst in and they quickly removed Kageyama’s pants before Oikawa carried him again into the bathroom where Kunimi and Kindaichi were staring anxiously.

“Alright now set him down gently.” Oikawa slowly lowered Kageyama into the tub. He tried to resist and began thrashing even more against the sudden temperature change, but Oikawa held him firmly and began whispering apologies when he noticed tears streaming down the younger’s face.

Kageyama had gotten settled in the water, bowls of snow on the side in case the water started to get warmer. Oikawa rolled up his pants and stood behind Kageyama in the tub to hold his head up properly, trying his best to ignore the biting iciness of the water on his toes.

After a few minutes Iwaizumi touched Kageyama’s forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

“He seems cooler. Let’s take him out.” The others nodded as Iwaizumi took Kageyama from Oikawa to let him dry himself off.

He went in the room and quickly changed the kid into dryer clothes before setting him down to take his temperature.

“How is it?” Kunimi asked as the others walked in behind him. Iwaizumi waited for the beep of the thermometer with bated breath. Finally they heard the beep and Iwaizumi read the number causing him to almost weep with joy.

“38.5 degrees!”

Kunimi collapsed on the floor as Kindaichi actually did cry tears of relief. Oikawa shuddered and put his hands in his head.

Finally Oikawa lifted his head. “He’s not out of the woods yet, but this is a good sign. Now I think the rest of you should go rest. It was my watch anyways.”

The others nodded as the adrenaline started to wear off and the fatigue hit them.

Oikawa settled against the wall next to the futon as Iwaizumi put the covers back on Kageyama nodding to his friend and going back down.

* * *

After almost two hours, Iwaizumi brought up some toast and eggs for Oikawa.

“I feel bad using his kitchen, but us starving won’t exactly help him.”

“We both know Tobio-chan would let you use his kitchen. Me, maybe not, but you is a definite yes.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. When you weren’t being a complete jealous jerk you were a good senpai.”

“Yeah but that didn’t happen enough.”

“Well no, but you acknowledging that you were a jerk is a good start.”

Oikawa smiled ruefully. He had spent a lot of time alone reflecting. Honestly he wasn’t an idiot, he knew that people could die if their temperatures reached more than 40 degrees and the fact that this kid was actually close to death at some point, shook Oikawa more than he’d care to admit-especially after he spent so much time hating the kid for simply being born brilliant.

They both jolted when they heard sounds coming from Kageyama. Suddenly he shot up with a hand to his mouth and a panicked look in his eyes. Thankfully, Iwaizumi figured out what was going on and shoved a trashcan under his mouth just in time.

Kageyama began to throw up, gripping the sides of the trashcan like his life depended on it. There wasn’t much to throw up, Oikawa noted, which meant that he had barely eaten at all yesterday. Eventually Kageyama was dry heaving into the can and Oikawa took pity on him and rubbed circles into his back while Iwaizumi wiped his chin from the spit and bile.

After he was done dry heaving, Kageyama panted for a few minutes before looking up at both of his former senpai. His face was flushed from the exertion of vomiting and the fatigue was obvious from how he could barely sit up on his own.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” He whispered silently, embarrassed that his guests were forced to take care of him.

Iwaizumi shook his head before replying warmly: “Kageyama I'm really glad we’re here. You're not an inconvenience. I can't even imagine what would have happened if you were this sick while you were alone.”

Kageyama muttered something along the lines of how it wouldn’t be the first time, and Iwazumi’s heart broke a little more. Oikawa sighed deeply before clearing his throat to make Kageyama look at him.

“Tobio-chan I’d rather not have my rival destroy his body because of the flu. We’re still tied remember. I fully expect to beat you one day on that court which is why you’re going to make a full recovery and we can forget this ever happened.”

Kageyama laughed softly. “Yes Oikawa-san.” He began to fight back a yawn as Iwaizumi gently pushed him back into the futon telling him to rest. Oikawa got up and took his breakfast elsewhere, guessing that it was the sudden smell of food that might have triggered the vomiting.

He walked downstairs where Kunimi and Kindaichi had the news on in the living room.

“Anything interesting?”

“The snow still hasn’t stopped. Everything is closed through next week and Kindaichi is grounded for a month next time his mom sees him.”

Kindaichi sighed. “Honestly it’s not like I chose to get stuck here! She’s acting like I did this on purpose!” The others laughed at his misfortune.

Eventually Iwaizumi returned and the boys amused themselves with reading the various books and magazines found around the living room or switching between channels. They periodically went upstairs to check on their sick member. Iwaizumi had tried to feed him, but it resulted in more vomiting, so they stuck to water.

That night, they went to sleep with relieved hearts thinking that the worst was over.

* * *

“Guys wake up!” Iwaizumi shot up at Kunimi’s plea.

He switched on the living room lights and watched Oikawa and Kindaichi get up groggily too.

“Kageyama began thrashing again out of nowhere! And then when I checked his temperature, it was 40.5.”

Iwaizumi felt his heart drop again. They rushed upstairs, where true to Kunimi’s word, Kageyama was thrashing around with his face looking redder than ever.

“Get the bath ready again. Iwa-chan bring some more cool cloths while it fills up.” Oikawa ordered as he tried to stop Kageyama’s thrashing. Eventually he decided to sit behind him and try to rest his head on his chest. He thought if Kageyama heard a heartbeat then he would be able to calm down.

It worked-to an extent. Kageyama’s thrashing stopped but then he began to whimper softly as his body reacted to feeling another person near him.

“Grandpa…you’re home!” Kageyama whispered happily causing silent tears to fall down Oikawa’s face.

* * *

The next 12 hours were some of the hardest in Oikawa’s life. Kageyama didn’t get cooler with the bath, but they had to take him out due to the risk of developing further complications. This led to the four Seijoh players taking turns washing him down again with cool cloths. They turned the kitchen upside down in hopes of trying to find medicine, but there was nothing. Oikawa swore when Kageyama got better he was going to drag him down to a pharmacy and not leave until he buys half the store so nothing like this could happen again.

To Iwaizumi, the hallucinations were the worst, especially when you knew that all the people that Kageyama was seeing were gone. He called out for his parents and grandfather, leaving Iwaizumi no choice but to play along and hope that he could provide some comfort. He knew Oikawa was taking it the hardest but between everything going on, he didn’t have time to check in with him, but he knew he’d have to soon.

Kunimi was frustrated. There was nothing he could do except hope that Kageyama is strong enough to win this fight. The only thing he could do is use the stupid towel and try to cool him down. He needed to make sure Kindaichi was doing okay, at the rate he was crying he would probably give himself dehydration.

Kindaichi was distraught. All he could imagine was waking up and discovering that Kageyama was dead. The thought terrified him to his core. He didn’t want Kageyama to die, not even during the moments he hated him had he ever wished death upon him. He was given the least amount of time to spend in Kageyama’s room, probably because the others knew he couldn’t handle it. Kindaichi hated feeling weak but looking at how small Kageyama looked in that bed, and how he would sometimes look like he was in unbelievable pain, he couldn’t take it.

After 12 hours when Kageyama was taking a break from his thrashing, Oikawa gathered the others and told them to come to the living room. They kept the bedroom door open for any signs of distress.

* * *

“I’m going to walk to the nearest clinic and see if I can get help. We’re in over our heads here.” Oikawa had prepared a list of counter arguments to anything Iwaizumi might say, but to his surprise his best friend nodded.

“I’ll come with you. Both of you stay here and keep an eye on things. We’ll be back soon.”

“No.” Kunimi was the one who was surprisingly voicing his displeasure.

“What if either of you get sick? We can't afford to have another sick person around! We need you guys here!” Logically, Kunimi knew that this was the right choice, but he was so terrified of seeing either of his upperclassmen suffering like Kageyama that he couldn’t bear to have them leave. Kindaichi nodded his agreement.

“We don’t have TIME for this.” Oikawa slammed his head against the wall in frustration. Kageyama was losing the fight and Oikawa refused to have that adorable idiot die on his watch.

Iwaizumi tried to get everyone to calm down when Kunimi began yelling at Oikawa in response. He knew emotions were heightened but this wasn’t the solution.

Kindaichi covered his ears as the yelling between the other three got worse and worse. Eventually he felt a tug on his sleeve and opened his eyes to look at Kageyama who was leaning against the wall with a blanket wrapped around him.

“What’s going on? Why is everyone yelling?” He asked hoarsely.

“Oh hey Kageyama. Nothing they're just-wait KAGEYAMA!” Kindaichi did a double take before launching himself at the confused 15-year-old. His shout had stopped the fight between the others who also crowded around their youngest in a group hug.

Oikawa felt Kageyama’s forehead and began to cry when he realized that the fever must've broken because it felt cool to the touch.

“Tobio-chan if you ever do that to me again I'm going to hurt you! I can't afford to get gray hairs I'm too pretty!” He shouted as he squeezed the kid just a little tighter. Kunimi and Iwaizumi nodded along with tears streaming down their faces.

Kageyama was confused, having very little recollection of the past couple of days but laughed along anyways.

Epilogue:

“Oikawa-san I can walk I swear.” Kageyama tried pleading the next day. He didn’t know why everyone was babying him so much, it was just a fever! They didn’t let him out of their sight, and even took shifts in his room! He had to remind Kindaichi not to follow him into the bathroom twice! Oikawa was the worst of all though. He refused to have Kageyama walk anywhere and insisted on carrying him while constantly complaining about how light he was.

Kageyama rolled his eyes as Oikawa ignored him and scooped him up in his arms again. Oh well. He was still very tired. He snuggled deeper into Oikawa’s chest and closed his eyes missing the fond smile on the others face.

Iwaizumi saw the two of them and laughed. “You know. If someone had told me last week that you would be willingly carrying Kageyama while smiling, I’d have made them run extra laps.”

Oikawa laughed. He didn’t expect to be so overprotective, but it turns out that watching his former kouhai fight for his life for a couple of days really changed his perspective. He’d have to thank Kunimi later for insisting they stop at Kageyama’s place for shelter.

“Honestly I don’t know Iwa-chan. Guess I just want to make sure this idiot doesn’t do something like this again. But if you ever mention it to anyone other than us here I will kill you. I have a reputation after all.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes knowing his friend didn’t mean it. Looks like Kageyama was about to get that senpai treatment from Oikawa that he always wanted, and all it took was a blizzard.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue part 2! Inspired by the lovely [Mvltiverse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mvltiverse/pseuds/mvltiverse)

Epilogue part 2:

Three days after Kageyama’s fever broke, the trains were back online meaning the others had to go home. They were all reluctant to do so, especially when they could see that their youngest was still getting easily fatigued and not eating enough. Finally, after Kageyama promised all of them daily updates (it would have been hourly if Oikawa got his way) in a new group chat for the five of them, and after Kageyama let Iwaizumi and Kunimi raid his kitchen to make him food to last a couple of weeks, they finally went home.

A week later the snow had been cleared from the roads causing school and practice to start again. Kageyama was excited beyond belief, almost two weeks without volleyball felt like a special form of torture.

In the morning, Daichi had gathered the team and begun making some announcements, but Kageyama and Hinata were both too busy subtly kicking each other so neither of them payed attention, consequently, this meant when Kageyama walked into the gym in the afternoon and saw the Seijoh second and first years, he was very surprised.

Kindaichi saw Kageyama and walked up to him, dragging Kunimi behind him. Both teams were slightly confused, knowing that there was some history between the three but assumed they just let bygones be bygones as they watched Kindaichi envelope the Karasuno player in a hug.

The three of them chattered amongst each other during warmup and were even joined by Hinata at some point who wanted to measure his jumping height against Kindaichi. Finally the game began.

* * *

The first set was a win to Karasuno, which meant that during the break, Coach Irihata was discussing strategy with Yahaba and the second years while the first years listened on. Kunimi was the only one that was very obviously not listening. Kindaichi nudged him.

“Oi we have to pay attention. What're you looking at?”

“Doesn’t he look more tired than normal to you?” Kunimi ignored the question and posed one of his own. Kindaichi didn’t have to ask who the ‘he’ in question was. He looked over at Kageyama who was sitting on the bench looking a lot more flushed than the rest of the team, even if they were on the court for the same amount of time. He was panting heavily and kept guzzling down water, not paying attention to their coach.

“You don’t think he's becoming sick again?” Kindaichi felt worry creep into his throat as he recalled last week’s mess.

“It’s probably a lingering side effect. It’s been barely a week since that fever broke, so obviously he can't bounce back fast. It could also be nothing and just be us being overly paranoid too.” Kunimi shrugged. He didn’t think he was wrong but if Kindaichi started to freak out then they wouldn’t get anything done.

A couple of minutes later, the coaches signaled the start of the second set. Kunimi knew he shouldn’t, but he secretly hoped the other team won so they could finish the game faster.

* * *

Seijoh took the second set much to Kunimi's secret displeasure. He looked over at Kindaichi and beckoned him over.

“He shouldn’t play the third set.”

Kindaichi looked over at Kageyama, who's breathing had somehow become even worse. They noticed that the vice-captain had pulled him aside previously, probably to ask if he was okay but Kageyama had brushed him off and gone back to the game.

They decided that enough was enough and walked over to Kageyama.

“Hey Kageyama.”

“Oh. Hi guys.” Kageyama could guess what they wanted but he hoped they wouldn’t ask.

“As much as we want to defeat you, don’t you think you should rest this set?” Kindaichi asked.

“I’m feeling fine. There’s no need for me to rest.” He wasn’t feeling fine. His throat was clogged up and he felt like he was sweating a lot more than usual in an attempt to cool down his warm, aching body. He refused to acknowledge it though, he was just so sick and tired of being weak and ill that he hoped if he pushed himself, his body would go back to normal. He opened his mouth to retaliate whatever Kunimi said but to his surprise:

“Alright. You know yourself. Have fun loosing.” Kunimi dragged a protesting Kindaichi away.

“What are you doing man! He needs rest!”

“Yeah, so give me my gym bag.”

Kindaichi was confused but complied anyways.

* * *

Coach Ukai was going to kill his setter. He knew Kageyama wasn’t well enough to play but the amount of protesting and pleading he did made the coach give into his requests. Maybe if he exhausted himself then he would willingly stop. (He hoped Takeda didn’t find out about this plan otherwise he’d never hear the end of it.)

Halfway through the last set, he decided enough was enough and that he needed to call a timeout because Kageyama was now beginning to sway slightly on his feet, clearly incapable of continuing. Just as he was about to signal, the gym door burst open.

“KAGEYAMA TOBIO WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!”

The entire gym was silent (except for two first years who were laughing at the turn of events) as they watched Oikawa of all people, march in the gym with Iwaizumi behind him and forcefully drag Kageyama off the court. The next surprising part was that after a couple of words were exchanged, Oikawa hugged Kageyama and sat down with him on the floor, speaking to him in soft tones. Iwaizumi had jogged over to the Karasuno team and began apologizing.

“I’m really sorry about this but he has a point. Kageyama shouldn’t be playing. His fever was over 40 degrees just last week and if we had known he intended on playing we would have come in advance and told you the situation.”

“Wait how do you know that? Were you with him when he was sick?” Sugawara asked with slight disbelief.

Coach Ukai watched as Iwaizumi squeezed his eyes for a few beats before opening them. The haunted look in his gaze made everyone know what he was saying was true.

“Let’s just say that certain circumstances led to us being there when he got sick. If you want details you can ask Kageyama later. Oikawa and I were in the area doing some shopping, so if it’s alright with you guys we can take him home because I don’t think he should be here much longer.”

Before Coach Ukai could say anything, Daichi stepped forward and clapped his hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

“Thanks for looking out for our stubborn setter. If you guys want to then yes please take him home. If it’s going to interfere with your plans we’ll have him rest in the clubroom, then Suga and I can help him home.”

Iwaizumi shook his head ruefully. “Look at that scene and tell me he’s going to let anyone else take him home.” He pointed towards the back.

The entire team had their mouths open as they saw Oikawa leaning against the wall with Kageyama’s head in his lap. Kageyama looked asleep and had Oikawa’s jacket on top of him as a blanket. Oikawa was running his hand slowly through Kageyama's hair and when he noticed the staring, he gave a cheeky grin and a peace sign with his other hand.

“Tobio-chan is fully out. He’s definitely not playing today.”

Coach Ukai shook his head and gave Iwaizumi the okay to leave. The team watched as Iwaizumi settled Kageyama on Oikawa’s back in a piggyback style and they waved to everyone before leaving. When the gym door shut, Tanaka looked at the rest of the team.

“Someone tell me I’m not the only one that hallucinated that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that! If anyone is interested in reading more for this AU, such as what happens when they go home a second time, or different scenarios, let me know!


	3. Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate ending I thought of, starting towards the end of the original story.

“I’m going to walk to the nearest clinic and see if I can get help. We’re in over our heads here.” Oikawa had prepared a list of counter arguments to anything Iwaizumi might say, but to his surprise his best friend nodded.

“I’ll come with you. Both of you stay here and keep an eye on things. We’ll be back soon.”

“No.” Kunimi was the one who was surprisingly voicing his displeasure.

“What if either of you get sick? We can't afford to have another sick person around! We need you guys here!” Logically, Kunimi knew that this was the right choice, but he was so terrified of seeing either of his upperclassmen suffering like Kageyama that he couldn’t bear to have them leave. Kindaichi nodded his agreement.

“We don’t have TIME for this.” Oikawa slammed his head against the wall in frustration. Kageyama was losing the fight and Oikawa refused to have that adorable idiot die on his watch.

Iwaizumi tried to get everyone to calm down when Kunimi began yelling at Oikawa in response. He knew emotions were heightened but this wasn’t the solution.

“Do you want him to DIE!” Oikawa yelled out in frustration.

“Of course not! But I don’t want you to die either!” Kunimi finally broke down into tears, finally becoming unable to control his emotions.

Oikawa grabbed his kouhai in a tight hug before motioning for a trembling Kindaichi to join in as well.

“Iwa-chan and I know we can't afford to get sick. We’ll wear every single layer we have and your coats if you want us to. The nearest clinic is a 15-minute walk and the snow is starting to slow down but we need to do this. I don’t know what I’d do if anything permanent happened to that idiot up there…especially…” Oikawa began to choke up, tears threatening to fall. “Especially when I need to apologize for everything I put him through.”

Kunimi finally nodded with his face buried in Oikawa’s shoulder. “You can count on us senpai. But please be fast.” His voice was hoarse but firm. The upperclassmen nodded and began to get ready, while Kunimi went back upstairs to keep vigil.

* * *

“Ready Iwa-chan?”

“Let’s do this.”

They were both bundled up to the max, each wearing two hats and scarves, as well as Kindaichi and Kunimi’s coats on top of their own winter gear. Oikawa and Iwaizumi had the map to the clinic out on their phones and agreed if they got separated, they would meet each other there. Bracing themselves, they opened the door and were greeted with the freezing cold.

As they began walking, Oikawa was grateful that the younger ones had stayed behind. The cold was making whatever parts of his face visible, extremely numb. Even his fingers were starting to tingle, and he was wearing gloves!

“Iwa-chan!!” He yelled out over the howling wind, “I think we need to walk faster!”

He saw Iwaizumi nod. At the pace they were going, a 15-minute walk would take almost double the time. Oikawa steeled himself and pushed forward, remembering how small and scared Kageyama looked.

After 20 minutes of walking, they finally got to the clinic. It was closed but that was to be expected. Iwaizumi began to bang on the door as loud as he could. After a few minutes he turned to Oikawa brokenly.

“I don’t think it’s going to work. It doesn’t look like anyone got trapped here.”

Oikawa grimaced. He couldn’t fail now! Not when they were so close! But…..Iwaizumi was right. A chill was beginning to settle in his bones, and he knew if they didn’t start walking back, then they’d end up sick as well.

As they turned around to walk back, they heard the jingling of a bell. “Wait! Come inside!”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi grinned at each other and rushed inside. It was nice and warm with a heater in the corner radiating the warmth to all corners of the clinic. They looked up and saw a middle-aged man and woman wearing doctor’s coats.

“You boys are crazy walking around in that storm! What on earth were you thinking!” the man began to admonish them. Before Oikawa could explain, the woman hit his arm and smiled gently.

“He shows his concern by yelling. Sorry about that. My name is Doctor Aiko, and this is my husband, Doctor Kazemaru. You seem like sensible young men, so tell me, what emergency brought you guys out in a storm like this?”

At the sound of the warm tone coming from the doctor, and with no kouhai around to act strong in front of, Oikawa and Iwaizumi felt the dam of stress finally break. To the shock of both of the doctors, they burst into tears as they recounted what had been happening to Kageyama and how he couldn’t get better at all. They watched as the doctors grew more and more concerned by the second. Finally, after their story ended, Doctor Kazemaru spoke.

“Sounds like you boys did the right thing trying to get help. I have connections with the hospital. In cases of emergency, they use emergency snowplows to clear a path for an ambulance. Give me the address of your friend’s house and I’ll go make a few calls.”

Iwaizumi thanked him profusely before rattling off Kageyama’s address. As her husband walked away, Doctor Aiko looked at the boys with a question.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where are this boy’s parents? Or adult guardian?”

“He…..he’s an orphan. He lives alone and I'm the trash human being that made his life miserable back in middle school all because I was jealous!” Oikawa burst into tears again as Iwaizumi stood next to him in shock. Before he could attempt to say anything, Doctor Aiko enveloped the sobbing teenager in a hug.

“Now, now. I’m sure he doesn’t think too badly of you. Otherwise he wouldn’t let you in his home! And look at you, all grown up and realizing your mistakes. I’m very proud of you. It’ll be okay, just you wait and see.”

“But…but what if he doesn’t get better! What if something horrible happens and I never had the chance to apologize! The last thing I said to him was to not expect an apology from me!”

“Hush now child. Have some faith in your friend okay? He _will_ be fine. You just have to believe.” Aiko knew that she shouldn’t instill false hope, but if the ambulance got there in time, then she knew the chances of survival were high. If the worst happens then she’ll cross that bridge when she gets to it, but right now, realism wasn’t what he needs.

“I just got off the phone. They should be able to clear the roads and get him to the hospital in an hour. We’ll be notified when they do. Until then, you boys are going to drink something warm and then we’ll shovel out the snow from the driveway so that the car can leave and enter the cleared roads to get you boys to the hospital.”

Oikawa and Iwaizumi nodded at that plan, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, they had hope.

* * *

“Oikawa-senpai says we should expect an ambulance soon so I'm going to unlock the door.” Kunimi said to Kindaichi as he walked out of the room. Kindaichi grunted in acknowledgement and went back to watching Kageyama.

His fever hadn’t spiked again, but it was still dangerously high. He was trying to keep his head cool as much as possible. Kageyama’s breathing had gotten worse, it began to sound like there was a rattling sound in his chest. Also, now when he coughed heavily, it sounded wet, like there was a lot of fluid built up inside that he was trying to get out.

Almost as if he knew what Kindaichi was thinking, Kageyama began to cough heavily. It was a wet, hacking cough that shook his entire body. Kindaichi sat him up to try and make it easier for him to breathe, but it didn’t help the coughing stop. Kindaichi’s heart skipped a beat when he saw that the force of the coughing, had brought tears to Kageyama’s eyes.

“Hey….you’re going to be fine. Please be fine Kageyama!”

Suddenly he heard the sound of sirens. Rushing to the window, he looked out on the street and saw the roads being cleared by large trucks with an ambulance following right behind them. He saw some men get out with a stretcher and ran back to Kageyama’s bedside.

They burst into the room following Kunimi and immediately began poking and prodding at Kageyama while Kunimi and Kindaichi tried their best to answer the barrage of questions. Finally, one of the men listening to his breathing looked up in shock.

“He’s got fluid in his lungs. We need to get going now.”

They picked him up and put him on a stretcher. Kindaichi began to worry when Kageyama showed no signs of acknowledgement that he was being moved. As the men were walking downstairs, Kunimi ran up to them.

“Wait! Take us with you please! He doesn’t have family!”

The men glanced at each other quickly before telling them to get in the ambulance now. Kindaichi and Kunimi rushed to put on some spare coats they found earlier and began to ride in the ambulance.

* * *

Oikawa and Iwaizumi burst into the waiting room with the doctors behind them. Iwaizumi pointed towards the back where Kindaichi and Kunimi were huddled next to each other on the plastic chairs.

“Hey you guys. How is he?”

“We don’t know. He started thrashing again in the ambulance and they whisked him away the second we got here….something about fluid in his lungs that they had to remove. The doctor said they’ll update us when they can.” Kunimi spoke in a monotone voice. He didn’t want to tell his senpai what he had overheard as they took Kageyama away, but he heard one of the men mutter that they may already be too late. Kunimi didn’t know what to do anymore.

“Well now. It seems that your friend may be here for a while. Do you boys want to stay, or would you like us to drop you back off? The snow has stopped so more roads are being cleared.” Doctor Aiko spoke softly. She guessed that what these boys thought was a cold or flu from the weather, was actually pneumonia.

“If you don’t mind, I think we’re going to stay. I don’t want him to wake up all alone.” Oikawa said with conviction. The others behind him nodded and Aiko smiled, having already guessed what they were going to do. She sat down and said that she and her husband weren’t going anywhere either and although the boys protested, she could see the signs of relief on their faces.

* * *

Finally, several hours later, a haggard looking nurse walked out and called for the family of Kageyama Tobio. The boys all shot up and when the nurse station didn’t let them in at first, Kazemaru spoke to them and explained the situation and then they allowed them all in.

“Alright now this may be a bit of a shock to see your friend like this, so just brace yourselves okay?” The nurse led them to a private room in the pediatric ICU. The boys nodded, trying not to let the fear show on their faces. They walked in and gasped.

Kageyama looked so small, surrounded by multiple machines measuring his heart rate and blood pressure. He had IVs hooked up to both arms and had an oxygen mask covering most of his face. He was wearing one of those flimsy hospital gowns and they could see some wires entering underneath the gown, probably to his chest area.

Kindaichi burst into tears and had to be led out of the room by Aiko to calm down. Iwaizumi and Kunimi sat down in the chairs to try and calm themselves down. Oikawa walked up to Kageyama and gently picked up his hand, squeezing it. He stared off into the distance, his mind both numb and overflowing with thoughts right now.

The nurses were informed that the kids were from out of town and were going to stay the night, so the four boys were given some blankets and pillows to make themselves comfortable. Oikawa and Iwaizumi stayed in chairs on either side of the bed, while Kunimi and Kindaichi were further away. They settled themselves down for a fitful night of sleep.

* * *

At some point during the night, Oikawa must've fallen asleep. He came to his senses slowly, and noticed something moving around in his hand. Blearily, he opened his eyes and noticed a smaller hand, rubbing circles on the back of his own. He sighed and was about to close his eyes again, when he shot up from the bed.

“Tobio-chan!” he whispered, not wanting to wake up the others as he looked towards Kageyama’s face. Kageyama’s eyes were open, no longer clouded by pain, and beneath the oxygen mask, he had a small smile on his face.

Kageyama lifted his arm up slowly, and touched Oikawa’s cheek, wiping something away. Oh. Oikawa didn’t even notice he was crying.

“Oikawa-san.” He rasped out, his voice weak and quiet.

“Tobio-chan don’t speak. Save your energy!” Kageyama shook his head.

“Oikawa-san….thank you.” He smiled again and the dam burst inside Oikawa’s heart, flooding him with happiness and sorrow all at once. He burst into loud sobs as he carefully gave Kageyama a hug and was soon joined by the others who were also sobbing and babbling.

From the door, Aiko and Kazemaru watched happily as they got ready to go home. It seemed like these boys would be fine after all.

Epilogue:

“Oikawa-san. I know you're there.” Kageyama spoke sleepily. He was back in his room several days later after the hospital finally agreed to release him. unfortunately, he was still tired and slightly feverish, and it would take him a while to fully recover. Oikawa and Iwaizumi had insisted on staying over longer, while Kindaichi and Kunimi were forced to go home by their parents.

Kageyama sat up in his room and looked towards the door, where Oikawa looked sheepish at being caught standing in his doorway in the middle of the night.

“Sorry Tobio-chan I thought I heard something.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes and motioned for Oikawa to come closer.

“Just stay here.”

“I don’t need to-”

“Oikawa-san this is the third time tonight. Just bring your blanket and stay here. It’ll make me feel better too.” Kageyama had noticed that it had become very easy to get Oikawa to do what he wanted. Iwaizumi said that it was a special gift.

Oikawa sighed and came back a minute later with his blanket before resting on the futon next to Kageyama. Kageyama rolled his eyes and went back to sleep, knowing his paranoid senpai would probably feel better now.

The next morning when Iwaizumi woke up and saw Oikawa missing, he rolled his eyes in exasperation. There was only one place he would be. He walked into Kageyama’s room and saw them both sleeping on the futon, covers kicked off of Oikawa and onto Kageyama with Oikawa’s arm wrapped around the younger. Iwaizumi grinned and took a photo, saving it to a file called: ‘Oikawa blackmail material.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that! I just came up with this what if randomly so I figured I could write it down!


End file.
